Pocono pet owners were grief-stricken Friday as they learned that Dr. Britt Seely of the Brodheadsville Veterinary Clinic had died.

From sharing stories of how the doctor was almost always spot-on with his diagnosis to noting his straightforward manner or remarking on the amount of compassion he showed to the animals, Seely's clients all had praise for him.

Seely, who was 58 and who had owned and operated the vet office since 1984, died early Friday morning at Pocono Medical Center from a "massive heart event," the Monroe County coroner said. Seely had had heart surgery early in the month.

Though many noted that Seely's skills as a veterinarian were superb and that he had an almost uncanny ability to tell what was ailing animals — "he was like our animal voice," one client said — almost all agreed that his standout feature was his compassion.

Seely remembered the names of almost all the animals he treated and listened carefully and attentively to the animals' owners.

"I never once felt rushed in that man's office," said Steve Leibig of Tannersville.

Carol Fuller remembers Seely as a "good man who cared about animals in the community."

As president of the Waggin' Tails pet rescue group, Fuller has worked with him more than 13 years. "He's been one of the most reasonable and best vets to the rescues," she said.

Fuller remarked on Seely's dry sense of humor and his willingness to work with rescued pets. He didn't ask upfront for payment. "I'd settle up with him afterwards," Fuller said.

"He was such an important part to our rescue, all the rescues really," Fuller said.

Pet owners recalled that he would go out of his way to make sure an animal he treated was properly recuperating and that everything was OK.

"Do you know that after Dr. Seely performed eyelid surgery on Karma he actually called us that night from his own home to find out how Karma was doing?" Matychak said.

When the friends of Stroudsburg resident Kathryn Furney Longo brought their gravely ill dog to Seely to be put down, they were too distraught to actually get out of the car once they arrived at the clinic, so Seely offered to perform the act in the car.

And when Longo's own dog needed to be put to sleep, she said Seely even cried with her.

"We will miss him so much," Longo said.

According to Seely's wife, Barbara, Seely decided to study veterinary medicine because he loved biology and he "loved all animal life."

He received his doctorate in veterinary medicine from the University of Illinois in 1981 and opened the clinic soon after. The clinic has grown over the years and currently has about 14 staff members and another vet.

Upon reading of his death, pet owners posted numerous comments on the Pocono Record's Facebook page.

One of Seely's former clients, Mary Giese Radke, wrote: "Soooooooo sad to hear this, a terrific doctor for the furry part of my family for many, many years."